Love Shall Not Start, But Finish
by Shinigami29
Summary: Jackie is suffering from every normal day.... and Hyde helps... but what will this little inncident lead to?


Hey everybody! My first That 70's Show Fic, so give me a break if it sucks, okay? ANYWAYS!! I hope you enjoy!!  
  
Disclaimer: I do not, under any circumstance, own That 70's Show. If I did, I wouldn't be here, bagging on my knees, for you not to rat me out, because I'm broke and I don't wanna get sued...  
  
-  
  
Just a Normal Day  
  
-  
  
It was just a normal day at the Foreman house. Kitty was in the kitchen, making breakfast, Red was reading the newspaper, Eric had yet to get down from his room and Hyde... Hyde was sitting at the table, thinking about how he got himself into this mess...  
  
....the mess that was Jackie Burkhart...  
  
But wait, there wasn't a mess... why should there be a mess? It's not like he though of her 24/7...  
  
It wasn't as if whenever she walked past him, his heart fluttered just a tiny bit....  
  
It wasn't as if when she spook, he could have sworn that sweet bells were ringing to the voice of an angel...  
  
No, he wasn't Foreman... he was Bad Ass Hyde.  
  
And Bad Ass Hyde didn't think about Little Miss Jackie Burkhart that way... no surrey, didn't think of her once...  
  
'Why the fuck am I thinking of her!?!' he thought, wishing he could just kill her right about now. 'God, it was her own fault for dating Kelso in the first place! She knew full well that he hadn't changed!! It's her own fault!!'  
  
"Steven, sweetie!" Kitty laughed her strange little laugh. "Here's your breakfast! Now, eat up!"  
  
"I'm not hungry Mrs. Foreman," Hype said, the weight of his thoughts and the sickness of hearing his own name making him lose his appetite. "Thanks anyways Mrs. Foreman." He stood up, getting ready to leave; but Kitty wouldn't hear of it.  
  
"Steven, you haven't been eating in a while now," she placed her hand on his should, trying to comfort him; to him, it felt like a burning knife, but he dealt with it. "What's the matter?"  
  
"You wouldn't understand Mrs. Foreman," he said, pulling away slightly; how could she understand that her mere presence seemed to kill him a little more everyday? "And don't worry; I'll go get something to eat at the Hub."  
  
"No you don't," she pushed him back down into his chair. "Red, talk to him!" and sped off, ready to make breakfast for Eric, who had just entered the room; finally.  
  
"Steven, what's wrong," Red said abruptly; more like Hyde was used to. Red didn't bother to look up from his newspaper; also like Hyde was used to. "Is it about a girl?"  
  
"It's nothing Red," he said, thinking himself, that it was the truth. "It'll pass; don't worry about it; now I'm going to go to the Hub and get some breakfast, okay?"  
  
"Fine," he looked up briefly from his paper, and the attention killed him just a little more. "But if Kitty harps at me, it's your fault, you hear me?"  
  
"I hear ya Red," he opened the sliding door. "Just tell Kitty that I miss eating her cooking, okay?" he got out of the door and closed it before he could get an answer, but he knew everything would be alright in there...  
  
He sighed, and went to his El Camino; today was just another normal day...  
  
"Hey Hyde," someone called; he looked up, happy to see his friend Donna. "Where ya heading?"  
  
"The Hub," he replied swiftly. "You wanna come? Foreman is still eating breakfast."  
  
"Sure," she said calmly. "So... we going in the El Camino?"  
  
"Yes," Hyde said, and changed his mind. "And guess what? You're not coming anymore! Now, go inside, and tell Foreman what you think of him already!"  
  
"But Hyde!" she complained, almost pleading with him. "That's what I came over here to do, but I can't! I just, can't..."  
  
"Well, suck it up," was Hyde's only response. "Besides, you don't need love. Look at Kelso and Jackie!" He knew that he was in trouble from the look on his friend's face.  
  
"Why do you keep going back to that?" she asked, slowly walking toward him, batting her eyelashes. "It happened two whole weeks ago," she leaned in close, her lips almost pressing against his ear. "Unless, of course, you're feeling a little soft for Jackie?"  
  
"What?" he pushed her away from him, something he never did to any girl. "Why would I go soft for a Burkhart? Their rich snobs!"  
  
"What, you going soft for Kelso then?" she leaned against the hood of the El Camino casually, knowing full well that what she was in for; but didn't expect what came.  
  
He pushed her off of the hood of his car, onto the cement pavement of the driveway.  
  
"Hell no Donna!" he said darkly, as if it was the worst thing in the world. "I would be fucking Jackie before I even go the tiniest bit soft for Kelso!"  
  
"What's gotten into you Hyde?" she asked, pushing herself u off of the pavement.  
  
"Nothing," he said, reaching into his pocket for his keys. "Get inside, now."  
  
And she was to afraid not to listen...  
  
He sighed, and got into his car.  
  
Today was just another normal day...  
  
-  
  
The glass door slid open, and Donna walked in, sitting in the chair that Hyde had been in before.  
  
"Hey Eric," she said happily; in reality, she was nervous as hell. "Is there something wrong with Hyde?"  
  
"Why would you ask?" he asked, smiling at her; god, how much he just wanted to kiss her...  
  
"Well, he pushed me-" she started, but got cut off by three voices.  
  
"He pushed you!" the Red, Kitty and Eric all said simultaneously.  
  
"I'll kill him!" Eric said next.  
  
"But Steven would never do something like that!" Kitty exclaimed.  
  
"That dumbass!" said Red.  
  
"Hey! I really think something is wrong with him okay!" Donna yelled over everyone's thoughts on her friend. "He hasn't been acting normal since the break up between Jackie and Kelso! And he would never push me unless uneasily provoked! Which, may I add, I did!"  
  
"Okay, alright," Kitty tried being the voice of reason. "I think we should talk to him... Red, go to the Hub and talk to him!"  
  
"Why me Kitty?" Red groaned; it wasn't his fault they were all dumbasses.  
  
"Because," Kitty sat down, looking at him. "You're the fatherly figure; you have to give him advice."  
  
"But Kitty!" He tired to but in.  
  
"But nothing Red Foreman!" Kitty glared at him, and he started to put his paper down and stand up.  
  
"I'll do it," Eric blurted out, instantly regretting it.  
  
"Really?" Kitty seemed exceptionally happy. "Oh, thank you!! Now, get going!!"  
  
"Sure thing mom!" he stood up reluctantly, and started toward the door. "You coming Donna?"  
  
"Sure Eric," she smiled; she just couldn't say no to him. "Bye Mrs. Foreman, bye Mr. Foreman." She stood up as well, and walked out of the door.  
  
-  
  
He parked the car, still not sure why he was there, of all places....  
  
Outside of Kelso's house...  
  
Sighing, he got up out of the truck, stretching out before heading up to the door.  
  
He knocked three times, and waited.  
  
Soon enough, Casey answered the door.  
  
"Hey Kelso," he said dangerously; he never did like Casey. "You know where your brother is?"  
  
"Yeah, sure," he smiled coolly; he did admire Casey's use of Zen... "He went over to the mall about an hour ago; said he was buying that Jackie girl a present, but didn't know what to buy. He said that he was leaving the mall, right about now."  
  
"Thanks man," he said, turning to go back to his car. "Next time you see your brother, punch him in the gut for me, will ya?"  
  
"Sure thing," he slammed the door shut, and Hyde went back to the El Camino.  
  
Damn, he hated himself for what he was going to do...  
  
-  
  
Jackie sat on her bed, weeping over Michael... her love...  
  
God, how it seemed to happen almost all the time... today was just another normal day...  
  
Another day in the hell that she lived in for the past years...  
  
The hell that she met Michael in...  
  
The hell she would never leave...  
  
"God, I'm pathetic..." she sobbed even more into her pillow, wishing that the day would end... wishing that her life would end...  
  
She pushed herself up off her bed, and crept down stairs, each of the shiny hardwood stairs creaking an almost inaudible sound...  
  
But she heard it in the deafening air...  
  
She went to her father's liquor cabinet, and stood still.  
  
She could see the neat rows of bottles through the glass...  
  
And see the lock binding them there...  
  
Biting her lip, she raised her hand up behind her should, clenched in a fist, and brought it smashing through the glass...  
  
Feeling her small form shutter just a bit at the impact...  
  
Feel the splinters of glass cut her delicate skin...  
  
Only to pull out one of the bottles, and head for the kitchen...  
  
God, today was too normal to bare...  
  
-  
  
He parked the El Camino, this time, in a place he really hoped he would never end up at...  
  
And yet, he didn't regret this decision nearly as much as he would have hoped he would have...  
  
And he saw Kelso parking his crappy assed van just across the street...  
  
Sighing, he quickly got out of the El Camino and crossed the street to meet Kelso before he got out of the Van.  
  
"Hey Hyde!" Kelso grinned cheekily. "Like the present I'm getting Jackie!!" the dumb bell pulled out a thin silver chain that the girl could use to put around her neck.  
  
"Yeah man, I like it," he said truthfully; quickly, he snatched it up. "But you're not giving it to her."  
  
"B-but, I bought that for Jackie!" Kelso stammered, trying to regain what little dignity he had.  
  
"Yeah, and I'm tired of hearing the little bitch complain about you continuously breaking up with her!" Hyde roared, scaring the wits out of him. "So bug off, now!"  
  
"If I didn't know better," Kelso said, matter of fact. "I'd say that you liked Jackie!"  
  
"But you know better, don't you Kelso?" Hyde tried to stay calm...  
  
'What are you thinking!!' he screamed in his mind. 'Just give him the god damned necklace, let him break her heart again, and go back to being the Zen master that you are!!'  
  
"Yeah," Kelso said slowly, getting out of the van. "Now, I have to give this to Jackie, and then speed off, because I met this really hot chick at the mall. And man, is she hot!"  
  
"Kelso man?" Hyde said, anger flaring within him.  
  
"Yeah?" Kelso asked dumbly, looking at his sunglasses. In a moment, he was seeing pretty little stars and nice little birdies flying around his thick skull, as Hyde hulled him back into his Van, buckled him up, and 'accidentally' undid the emergency break, causing the vehicle to slowly roll down the hill, eventually crashing into a lamp post; Kelso still peacefully dosing inside.  
  
"God, what am I doing," he asked himself as he started walking again; this time in the opposite direction of his El Camino. He almost tripped on the stairs, because he wasn't looking, but he caught himself and walked up to the door. "I swear I'm going to kill myself after this..."  
  
-  
  
Eric and Donna pulled up at the Hub at last, but didn't see the El Camino in the parking lot.  
  
"Maybe he parked down the street and walked," Donna suggested, worry for her friend clear in her voice.  
  
"Yeah, maybe," Eric replied, jealous that Donna was worrying over Hyde...  
  
"Tell you what," Donna said, reaching for the door handle. "I'll run in, talk to him, and come back out, okay?"  
  
"Sure thing," Eric smiled. "Come back soon!"  
  
"Sure thing," Donna smiled back and got out of the Vista Cruiser.  
  
"God Eric, you're pathetic," he knocked his head against the steering wheel after a minute of waiting. "Just tell you that you like her, and it'll all be ov-"  
  
"You like who now?" Eric snapped his head up to look at Donna, who conveniently, was at his window.  
  
"It doesn't matter," he replied quickly, trying to cover up his little mistake. "Wasn't Hyde there?"  
  
"Nope," Donna said; she rounded the front of the car and got in. "And the guys there said that he hasn't been there all day..."  
  
"Oh great," Eric started the car. "Mom's going to be so worried...we'll never hear the end of it..."  
  
-  
  
She looked at the shot glass she had filled, like she had been for 5 minutes...  
  
Finally, she tore her gaze away from there, and looked at the neat little pile of aspirin that she had made...  
  
Then she looked at the open bottle of liquor...  
  
Then at her bloodied hand...  
  
Then at the door...  
  
The door which someone started knocking on just a minute ago....  
  
Taking a deep breath, she grabbed two of the aspirin, and the shot glass...  
  
Downed them both...  
  
She felt the burn of the liquor in her throat, and the two lumps of the pills slip uncomfortably down to the pit of her stomach to join her sorrow...  
  
Life would end...  
  
And so would this normal day...  
  
-  
  
He heard a little coughing on the other side of the door, and knew she was home.  
  
He called for her...  
  
"Jackie!!" he yelled, knowing she'd hear. "I know your there! Just open the god damned door!!"  
  
He stayed quite and heard the soft slap of glass on wood...  
  
A little more coughing...  
  
"Jackie!! Open the door!!" he listened intensely, and could have sworn he could hear some sort of liquid being poured, but it could have been someone sobbing for all he knew... "Open the door of I'll break it down!!"  
  
He listened again, and heard soft, unsure foot steps...  
  
Then the gentle rattle of the chain being taken off the hook...  
  
And the door opened...  
  
And there she was...  
  
Point Place's own little snow queen...  
  
In purple PJ's and tears rolling down her face...  
  
"What do you want Steven?" she said softly, wiping the tears off of her face.  
  
"I just wanted to give you this," he pulled the chain out of his pocket, and pushed it into her hands. "Kelso bought it for you, trying to get back together with you, but I knocked the ass whole out for you. Still thought that you might like it though." He didn't dare say he was worried about her... cause he wasn't... why would he be worried about her?  
  
"Thanks Steven," she held onto it tightly, and leaned a little onto the door. "Is there anything else?"  
  
"No, nothing at-" he was going to say all, but he stopped short when he saw his own hand. It was red with blood; but not his own... "Jackie, can I see your hand?"  
  
"Why would you want to see my hand?" she asked hesitantly.  
  
"Just show me your hand Jackie," he pushed the door open a little, and watched as she fell forward... and he caught her before she hit the ground. "Jackie? Are you okay?"  
  
He just stood there for a minute, asking her if she was alright, each time with no reply...  
  
Soon, he realized that she wouldn't reply, so he gently picked her up, cradling her in his arms...  
  
Carefully, he pushed the door fully open, and walked through the big house; the first room he saw was the kitchen...  
  
On the table, there was a half empty liquor bottle, an empty bottle of aspirin, and a shot glass...  
  
It hit him...  
  
She looked down at her, as he pieced everything together...  
  
God, Kelso was so dead...  
  
-  
  
Eric slid open the door and walked inside, getting ready to tell his mother the news...  
  
"Eric, honey!" Kitty hugged him. "Thank you for finding Steven!"  
  
"I found Hyde?" he asked, before he realized what he said. "Of course I found Hyde! Um... how did you know?"  
  
"Oh, he phoned just a minute ago!" Kitty laughed. "Now, go and play with your friends!"  
  
"Sure thing mom," he said, turning around, he exited the kitchen to the driveway, where he saw Donna and Fez.  
  
"Well, what happened?" Donna instantly bombard him with questions.  
  
"He phoned in and said that I found him," Eric said blankly. "And life is back to normal!"  
  
"Yes," Fez said sadly. "I don't have any more candy..."  
  
-  
  
He reached for the bowl on the top shelf, causing his shirt to ride up his belly, the soft fabric tickling his skin...  
  
He pulled down the bowl and went to the sink to fill it up, but stopped about halfway across the room.  
  
"God, what am I doing," he closed his eyes, and the image of a motionless Jackie filled his vision... "Why did I come here in the first place?" he sighed, knowing full well that it was a great thing that he came here; he just wanted to prove the inedible wrong... "Why do I care?"  
  
He sighed again, and finished crossing the room to the sink, and slowly turned the taps, watching the water gush out slowly... like her blood must have done...  
  
Shaking his head a little to shake out the mental image, he pushed the bowl under the stream of water, turning the tap a little more so that he wouldn't be waiting all day.  
  
He sighed again, and pulled the bowl out of the flow of water.  
  
Slowly, he made his way back to the living room he had discovered, making sure that he didn't spill any of it... and making sure to turn off the tap....  
  
'Okay,' he started to reason with his mind, but only a bit. 'She's a hot chick; who wouldn't know that? But the only reason that I'm helping her is so that this stupid government won't send some people down to check this out, because that would be bad for everyone.... not only her...'  
  
He entered the room, and noticed her form and curled up a little, facing the back of the couch he had laid her on...  
  
He sighed and walked up closer to her, not bothering to go search for a rag to use...  
  
That would take to long...  
  
No, he couldn't waste anymore time on finding a stupid rag to use...  
  
The government could use that time alone to get in...  
  
And he might lose her...  
  
He sighed again, and balanced the bowl on the arm rest...  
  
"God, when did I even start to care," he mumbled to himself; he carefully lifted her up just a little, and slid his body underneath her. He then set her back down, so that her head was in his lap...  
  
But the way she was looking didn't make him any more comfortable...  
  
Being even more careful then before, he rolled her fully onto her back, so that they could both be comfortable...  
  
Sighing, he swore under his breath...  
  
... Kelso was so dead....  
  
-  
  
"I just don't understand mom," he complained to her once again. "Where's Hyde?"  
  
"I told you," Kitty said to him. "He didn't tell me. He just said that he was staying at his friend's house."  
  
"But Hyde doesn't have any friend's besides us!" Eric complained even more.  
  
"Yeah Mrs. Foreman!" Donna joined in. "What if he has to sleep on the street tonight?"  
  
"Don't worry," Kitty tried to reassure her. "He said that he would be fine, and was spending the weekend at a friend's house. Now, that alone is a miracle, so let's try to see if we can have it so that Steven has another friend, okay?"  
  
"Yes mom," Eric finally relented; he saw that Donna didn't want to give up and gently nudged her.  
  
"Yes Mrs. Foreman," she sighed, mouthing 'Thank You' to Eric.  
  
"Well, that better!" Kitty laughed, and started making lunch. "Now, you all go play!"  
  
-  
  
He sat in the same position he had been for about an hour...  
  
Using his shirt as a rag so that he wouldn't have to search the house, he continued to look at the girl in his lap...  
  
The girl who he didn't think about...  
  
The girl that didn't matter that much to him...  
  
Was finally waking up...  
  
He smiled a little, happy that she had woken up earlier then normal... it usually took a day or two...  
  
"How you feeling?" he asked her, gently removing his t-shirt and brushing a few strands of hair out of her eyes.  
  
Her eyes that opened...  
  
"Steven?" she murmured. "What are you doing here?"  
  
"Looking after you," he murmured back, fighting to gain control of the smile before she noticed. "And deciding on how I'll kill Kelso."  
  
"Why do you want to kill Kelso?" she asked with genuine concern. "What has he done?"  
  
Damn...  
  
She still liked him...  
  
But that really didn't matter...  
  
.... so, why did he hurt...?  
  
"He caused you to want to kill yourself," he whispered, reaching over to dip the tips of his fingers into the bowl of water; slowly, he brought his hand back to her face, letting the droplets caress her cheeks... "Cause that bastard was going to go right to yet another girl when he got back with you..."  
  
He watched in silent awe as the droplets made their way from her forehead...  
  
To her cheeks...  
  
To her neck...  
  
He forced his gaze back up to her eyes, and made a decision.  
  
He carefully cradled her head, as he wordlessly stood up.  
  
"Where are you going?" she asked shakily. "What are you doing?"  
  
He didn't answer, just carefully brought her up into his arms, and slowly started carrying her to the stairs.  
  
He hoped that he would find her room...  
  
"Hyde!" she pleaded. "Where are we going."  
  
He stopped...  
  
She said 'Hyde'...  
  
It was... wrong...  
  
She was the girl who called his Steven...  
  
Not 'Hyde'...  
  
It... hurt....  
  
Hurt just like when Mrs. Foreman called him Steven...  
  
Hurt like when Red gave him that slight attention...  
  
Hurt like when Mrs. Foreman touched him...  
  
But here he was...  
  
Holding the girl that he hated...  
  
And it felt.. right...  
  
No, he wasn't exposed to have feelings...  
  
Especially for her...  
  
God, this was just another normal day....  
  
"Where's your room?" he asked, hoping that his voice didn't betray anything.  
  
"Up the stair," she said, suddenly sounding tired... "Last door on the right..."  
  
He sighed again.  
  
God, why did this have to be a normal day?  
  
-  
  
"Come on mom, tell us!" Eric complained at dinner. "We're dying to know!"  
  
"Kitty, just tell him all ready," Red barked, sick and tired of hearing him complain.  
  
"I can't," she stated, picking up their empty dished to put in the sink. "I promised not to tell."  
  
"Oh, come off it mom!" Eric whined. "Please tell me?"  
  
"No," she started washing up. "Now, eat your dinner!"  
  
-  
  
She sighed, and wiggled closer to the warmth of the body next to her...  
  
Body?  
  
Her eyes snapped open suddenly as she pushed against who ever it was, pushing herself out of the bed, and onto the floor...  
  
"Jackie?" she heard him murmur. "You're awake? Wow... only 8 hours of sleep... your extremely lucky..."  
  
"What do you mean I'm lucky?" she snapped at him, curling up into a ball, hugging her legs to her chest. "This is another normal day... just another day... another day that had to be stopped..." she raised her eyes to meet his gaze. "Why didn't you let it stop?"  
  
"Jackie," she watched as he sighed, and came to join her on the floor, pulling her into a hug. "I lost a dear friend of mine to suicide before... I didn't want to lose another one..."  
  
Yes... just another normal day....  
  
She stayed quite for a long while after that, enjoying the little comfort that she got from his embrace...  
  
"Steven?" she asked finally.  
  
"Yes Jackie?" he said, not pulling her away to look her in the eye.  
  
"Could you," she struggled with the thought of it... "Could you make sure that Kelso doesn't make my life, my life all normal days?"  
  
She heard his breathing, and felt the soft thump of his heart...  
  
"Anything Jackie," she heard him whisper. "Anything...."  
  
-  
  
And a normal day for Steven Hyde, ended up being the being of a race...  
  
A race against time... 


End file.
